Dog rules rankle Santa Cruz County visitor

Live Oak >> A Chico man who was injured in a fight on a Live Oak beach earlier this month said he is still upset with Santa Cruz County dog rules. After he was taken to a hospital, his dog was taken to the County Animal Shelter where he was forced to get it spayed because he couldn't afford an "unaltered" dog certificate.

County law requires dogs released by the shelter to either be spayed or neutered — or the owner must buy a $250 certificate for an "unaltered" dog if it lives in Santa Cruz County.

Jason Montero, a 29-year-old from Chico, couldn't prove he lived outside the county, so he said he had no choice but to pay $243 to have his 2-year-old German shepherd Mocha spayed. And since her rabies vaccination was more than a year old, he had to pay for a vaccination as well as a dog license.

"It seems like if you're from out of town, you shouldn't have to pay. Am I supposed to apply for licenses in every town I go to?" Montero asked Wednesday.

Montero, who has been a fine-dining waiter and landscaper, said he lived in Santa Cruz County about 14 months ago. He has since lived both on a farm in Orland and in Chico, but never had his address changed on his driver's license.

On April 3, Montero was visiting his mother in Santa Cruz County. He was out and drinking that night and took Mocha to Sunny Cove beach about 8:30 p.m.

He got into a fight with two men, according to the Sheriff's Office, and was hit in the back of the head. Unconscious, Montero was taken to Dominican Hospital by ambulance. He had to have four staples put in his head to repair the cut.

That night, deputies took Mocha to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter on Seventh Avenue, which is standard procedure when a victim is taken to a hospital, authorities said.

Montero was released from the hospital about 2 a.m. He was briefly detained by deputies on suspicion of being drunk in public, said sheriff's Sgt. Patrick Dimick. But Montero wasn't ticketed or arrested, according to records.

Later that morning, Montero went to get Mocha at the county shelter. He said he told employees at the shelter that he lived outside Santa Cruz County, but his driver's license showed an Aptos address.

Montero said he had no other documents to prove he lived outside the county, so he was treated as if he lived here. Shelter employees gave him two options: Pay about $250 for an "unaltered" animal certificate and $100 for an unaltered animal license — or pay about $180 to have the dog spayed and $20 for an "altered" license. He also had to pay for the expired rabies vaccination.

Given his financial situation, Montero said he had no choice but to have Mocha spayed even though he'd hoped to breed his purebred with the help of his aunt, a longtime licensed breeder.

Melanie Sobel, general manager of the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, said Montero first told shelter staff that he was moving to Chico, not that he lived there. Montero disputes that. He said he told them he lived in Chico.

Sobel said the shelter accepts other forms of identification to prove that a person lives out of county, such as a bill or other identification card, but Montero didn't have any documents on him.

"This is something we deal with every single day," Sobel said Wednesday.

She said people often try to get out of paying for licenses and for spaying or neutering by saying they don't live in Santa Cruz County.

"He didn't give us any information that he didn't live here," Sobel said.

The mandatory spay and neuter law, which county leaders adopted in the early 1990s, was designed to limit the number of stray dogs and reduce taxpayer money needed to rescue, shelter and care for stray animals, according to shelter leaders.

Wednesday, Montero said he and Mocha are recovering in Chico.

He had the address on his driver's license changed this week.

County Dog Rules

Santa Cruz County has several rules for dogs.

Spay/Neuter: Dogs and cats older than 6 months who reside in Santa Cruz County must be spayed or neutered. Fines for not spaying/neutering a dog start at $100, unless the owner holds a certificate for an unaltered dog, which costs about $250 for an "unaltered" animal certificate and $100 for an unaltered animal license.

Licenses: Santa Cruz County and the cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Scotts Valley require that all dogs 4 months old and older must be licensed. Fines for unlicensed dogs start at $100.

Vaccines: Rabies vaccinations are required for dogs. Fines for not vaccinating a dog start at $100.

Microchips: Identification microchips are required for dogs, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors decided in February. Citations are treated as "fix-it" tickets. Microchipping is available for $25 or less at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter, 2200 Seventh Ave., Santa Cruz.